Isabella Swan: Hogwarts Memories
by Janie83
Summary: A compilation of prequel one-shots from the Magical Twilight series about Bella's past at Hogwarts. Not requiered to understand the main plot of MT. Rated M for language in later chapters.
1. September 13th, 2004

**A/N: Hello! So as I promised, this is a complitation of one-shots about Bella at Hogwarts. A short version of this chapter can be found in chapter 12 of Magical Twilight when Bella tells Edward how she found out she was a witch. I just felt that I should include it here as well.** **Enjoy.**

 _ **September 13th, 2004**_

Today was hot and sunny in Phoenix, Arizona, like always. The sky was blue, no cloud on the horizon. My mom briefly looked out the window with a happy expression and then she continued making dinner. Today the dinner was supposed to be special. Today was the only day in a year when I and my parents are together, pretending to be a happy family. Today was September 13th and I celebrated my eleventh birthday.

While my mom was finishing dinner, me and dad set the table. I knew she made me a cake too, or rather had a friend of her do it since she couldn't bake, but I couldn't have it until after dinner.

When we were eating, dad told us the newest Forks gossip, including a horrible accident near the La Push reservation, where some kid had fallen off a motorbike and nearly got killed. Mom told him off for talking about these things at dinner and with me at the table.

Right at that moment the door bell rang.

"Are you expecting someone?" dad asked.

"No," mom said and I shook my head. She got up and went to answer the door, me right behind her. I was naturally curious.

There stood a strange looking woman. She was quite young and had a short blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved black dress that looked more like some sort of a robe and over it she had a long, black cloak. In this heat.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Swan," said the woman after dad had joined us. "And you must be Isabella," the woman went on and smiled at me.

"Excuse me," said dad, "but who are you and how do you know our daughter?"

"My name is Evelyn Sunshine. I came here to talk about your daughter's future," she said slowly, like she wanted to prepare us for something.

"What do you mean?" asked mom with panic in her voice. I tried to remember if I had done something that could have gotten me in trouble. I'd gotten good grades at school and there had never been any complaints about my behaviour. Well, except the one time when Danielle McWhite had accused me of causing the ugly pimples on her face, but seriously, how could I have done it? No one had believed her anyway.

"May I come in?" Mrs. Sunshine asked with a patient smile. "What I want to tell you is a very sensitive topic and I wouldn't want to be overheard."

Mom started panicking even more but dad opened the door wide to let her come in. He closed the door again but he didn't invite her into the living room.

"So," he said with arms crossed. "What do you want to talk about?" I was standing next to mom, who stared at Mrs. Sunshine, leaving all the talking to dad. He was a policeman after all.

"I think you'd want to sit down. It's quite a shocking news," Mrs. Sunshine suggested but no one moved. "Very well," she said, shrugging. "I'm from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and I came to talk about the magical education for your daughter. She's a witch."

There was a complete silence. Then mom burst out laughing and dad's face went red with anger. I stared at the woman quietly with wide eyes.

"Did you come here to make fun of us?" Dad growled while mom was still giggling.

Now was the time for me to say something before dad threw Mrs. Sunshine out.

"So, the things that sometimes happen to me… it's magic?" I said quietly but it was loud enough for my mom to stop giggling and dad to stop trying to kick Mrs. Sunshine out of the door.

"What things, honey? What are you talking about?" asked mom, sounding slightly hysterical. I tried to ignore her and looked directly at Mrs. Sunshine, who smiled, nodding.

"Yes, it's magic."

"What things?!" Mom stared at me, wide-eyed, her eyes full of fear and anxiety.

I took a deep breath and started talking.

"Sometimes… when I trip over something or am about to fall or get angry or… I'm scared… strange things happen. Dad, do you remember when we went fishing and I slipped on the mud?"

I looked at Charlie, who had been watching me the whole time, and I knew he remembered.

"You… you didn't fall. You were… sort of levitating in the air and then you… you landed on your feet," he said, his eyes flickering between me and Mrs. Sunshine.

I suddenly realized that maybe I really had something to do with Danielle's pimples. I suppressed a grin and turned to look at mom.

She looked like she was about to faint. Mrs. Sunshine must have noticed because suddenly she pulled a thin wooden stick out of her cloak pocket and waved it in the kitchen direction. A second later there was a loud noise and one of our kitchen chair flew in the hall and landed right next to mom. She gasped and collapsed in the chair.

Mrs. Sunshine pulled a small vial out of her other pocket and handed it to mom.

"Drink it. It will calm you down. And no, it's not a poison," she added when she saw dad's expression.

Surprisingly, mom took the vial from her with a shaking hand and slowly took a drink. A few seconds later she looked much more relaxed.

"So." Mrs. Sunshine clapped her hands once. "Back to business. I hoped we would go to the living room but it would be bettter for Mrs. Swan if she didn't move right now." She waved the wooden stick again and three more chairs flew in the hall.

We sat down hesitantly and the whole time I was watching Mrs. Sunshine with excitement. She pulled a few sheets of paper and some brochures out of her cloak – it must have had a lot of pockets – and then she took the cloak of and sat down too.

"So," she said again, "as I already told you, I'm from the Magical Congress of the United States of America and I came here to talk about Isabella's future. But first, I believe I owe you an explanation. Apart from the world you know, there is another one, a magical one. But you're not supposed to know about it because we live in hiding. Some wizards and witches even live among you without your knowledge. There's a reason for it and it's called the Statute of Secrecy. First and the most important rule is that we have to stay hidden from no-majs or muggles, as the British call them. It means people with no magical powers.

"Sometimes it happens – like in this case – that a child with magical abilities is born to two no-majs. You'd probably like to know how is that possible. There must have been a squib in your family – that means a child with no magical powers that is born to magical parents – who carried the gene. The squib could have lived a few generations ago and for the whole time the magical gene ran in your blood without notice and then suddenly resurfaced in your daughter."

I listened to it all with my mouth open. It sounded absolutely incredible.

"Young wizards and witches are usually educated in magical schools all around the world. Their training usually starts at eleven or in some countries even sooner. The moment Isabella was born, her name was enrolled at the British school. But since you moved in America, you can choose if you want to attend the American or British school. I've brought some materials about both schools with me."

I looked at the brochures Mrs. Sunshine had handed me. They weren't made of paper but of something that looked like parchment. There was a picture of a castle on the front of both brochures. Underneath the first one there was the word Hogwarts written in green letters, the other one was called Ilvermorny.

"You have a lot of time to decide which school will suit you better," said Mrs. Sunshine with a smile. "You were born in September so you missed the beginning of the school year. You will have to wait for the whole year before you can begin your education."

I felt a sting of disappointment but it wasn't that surprising. I'd always been the oldest in my class and it hadn't always been an advantage.

"What if she stays at home?" my mom said suddenly. I looked at her with surprise. "She can just stay here and pretend she's norm… I mean, she's like us."

I couldn't believe it.

"But mom! I want to go!" Now it was me who was panicking.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Mrs. Swan," said Mrs. Sunshine and I breathed out in relief. She looked suddenly stern. "Untrained young witches and wizards can be dangerous. Their magical ability can't be suppressed. They have to learn how to control and use it. Of course, when she's finished her education, she can decide if she wants to live as a witch or go back to live without magic. But she must learn first."

Mom looked like she wanted to protest but eventually she gave up trying to argue with Mrs. Sunshine. I turned back to the witch.

"When do I have to decide?" I asked.

"I'll be back at the beginning of January. If you choose Ilvermorny, we'll need some time to arrange a place for you."

She stood up then and put her cloak on.

"I have to go now," she said and smiled at me. Then she turned to my parents. "Remember what I said. You can't tell anyone about our world. Do you understand?"

She looked stern again and my parents nodded mutely.

"Good." She smiled again and opened the door. "I'll see you in January."

She winked at me, turned on her heel and with a loud _crack_! she was gone.


	2. August 10th, 2005

**A/N: So, I couldn't focus on BM, instead I got a little carried away writing this. I originally planned on keeping the chapters rather short but this one got a little out of control. And I have the feeling that the next one will be like that too :) Anyway, I'm posting it now so I can get back to BM and start writing chapter four.**

 **I also realized that I forgot to write a disclaimer in the first chapter, so here it is: I don't own anything. It all belongs to JKR and Bella and Charlie belong to SM.**

 ** _August 10th, 2005_**

I woke up in the morning, feeling positively excited. The sun was shining outside the hotel room window and it promised a warm, summer day.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the bed. "Dad, get up! We have to get going!"

I ran to his bed, throwing aside his covers and then continued to the bathroom. I only vaguely heard his grumbling but I knew he was as excited as me.

I got dressed in a lightning speed and was back in the room just as dad was getting up.

"Where's the fire, Bells?" He chuckled, amused by my behaviour but when I answered him with a glare he put up his hands as in surrender and shuffled into the bathroom.

After what felt like eternity we finally left the hotel. I was clutching the envelope in my hand, knowing its content by heart but it still felt good to take it with us. Inside were several sheets of parchment. The first one was a letter, informing me of my acceptance to Hogwarts. The second, and today the most important one, was a list of all things I would need for school. The third one was a note with instructions how to get to the Leaky Cauldron.

The envelope contained a few other things I needed but I'd decided to leave it in the hotel room for now. It was the Hogwarts Express ticket and instructions how to get to the secret platform at the King's Cross station the train would be leaving from.

After about twenty minutes long subway (or tube, as dad reminded me) ride we reached Charing Cross Road. It was a long, busy street full of people hurrying both directions and I gulped when we first stepped out of the tube station into the street. I looked at the instructions on the parchment I was holding and sighed in frustration.

"How am I supposed to find it? There must be hundreds of bookshops in here!" Any other day I would have been thrilled at the idea of so many of them but not now. Now I was on a mission to find a place where, hopefully, I would be able to buy much more interesting books than the ones that were behind the shop windows here.

Dad put his hand on my shoulder and we slowly started walking. "You are supposed to see it, right? We're just going to walk around here until you do."

I took a deep breath and, taking dad's hand so we wouldn't get separated, started walking down the street. I was looking around the buildings and dad navigated me through the crowded street so I wouldn't bump into anybody.

"What exactly does it say?" said dad after about ten minutes.

"Um…" I looked at the parchment for what seemed like a hundred time. "It's located between a record shop and a book shop," I read aloud. "That's very helpful." I wondered if the instructions were up to date because so far we'd passed several bookshops but nothing that looked like a record shop.

We also passed so many restaurants that I started to feel hungry even though we'd had breakfast just before we left the hotel.

"Well, there is a record shop over there," said dad, pointing at something across the street. "And a book shop right next to it."

I looked up and he was right. First I saw quite a big bookshop with hundreds of books in the window. Next to it stood a rather old looking smaller building with a dirty window and a broken sign in which all I could make out was an old picture of a record. But that wasn't all.

Between the two buildings stood another one. Or rather, there was an old door with scraped wooden sign that said _The_ _Leaky Cauldron_.

"That's it!" I breathed out with relief mixed with excitement. "Dad! We've found it!"

We quickly crossed the street and suddenly we stood in front of the door. With a slightly shaking hand I reached for the handle and just when I touched it, dad gasped, having finally seen it too.

Inside it was quite dark and shabby and it looked like what I thought any other pub looked like. The main diference was the way the people dressed. They all wore wizarding robes and some of them had a pointy hat on their head. The barman was bold and looked rather grumpy.

According to the instructions though, it was the barman that was supposed to tell us how to get to the Diagon Alley. Dad straightened up and made his way to the bar with me in tow.

He cleared his throat but the barman just continued reading the newspaper while right next to him a rather dirty rag was cleaning a glass. By itself. I blinked at it several times but then I heard dad speak.

"Excuse me, my daughter would like to get to the Diagon Alley and you're supposed to tell us what to do," he said surprisingly quickly.

The barman looked up from his newspaper and after a few seconds nodded shortly. After putting the newspaper down, he motioned for us to follow him. Then he led us to the back door.

"First time to Hogwarts?" he asked and even smiled at me, showing a few missing teeth.

I just nodded and glanced nervously at dad. He shrugged and then we followed the barman through the door. We found ourselves in a courtyard. There was nothing there except for a few garbage cans. I looked around feeling confused but right then the barman pulled out his wand and stepped in front of the wall surrounding the courtyard.

He started to tap the bricks with the tip of his wand. It looked like some kind of ritual. Then he took a step back and we watched as the wall started to quiver and before I could blink the bricks started to vanish and a hole appeared. It got bigger and bigger until we stood in front of an archway large enough for dad to walk through.

Behind the archway I could see a cobbled street that turned out of sight.

"Diagon Alley," said the barman and waved his hand toward the archway. "Go ahead! When you need to come back, just knock on the wall and I'll come to get you." Then he disappeared back inside.

"Th-thank you," I stammered out because I was the only one able to speak. Dad was still gaping at the hole with his mouth open.

I took dad's hand and we both stepped through the archway. As soon as we were both through, I heard a rumbling sound and when I turned around the archway was gone and I was facing a solid wall again.

The street seemed long and there were many various shops on both sides. It was crowded, many of the people were teens or children who, like me, were looking for school things.

I looked at dad whose mouth was still slightly open.

"I had no idea something like this was possible," he muttered and I knew exactly how he felt. "What's the name of the place you can get money?" he asked after a while.

"Um," I said and checked the parchment with the instructions about Diagon Alley. "It's a bank and it's called the Gringotts."

We started looking around for something that resembled a bank. I could see a cauldron shop, an apothecary and a shop selling robes. Then I saw it. A big, snowy-white building that towered over all the other shops.

"What about that?" I pointed at the building and together we headed that direction.

When we got nearer, we saw a large bronze doors and beside it stood a very strange looking creature. It wore a scarlet and gold uniform, it was shorter than me and it had a pointy face and long fingers. Dad stared at it for a while until I tugged at his sleeve and we both walked up the marble staircase leading to the doors. The creature bowed to us and we stepped inside. Before us was another pair of doors, this time silver. I stopped, reading the writing above the doors.

 _Enter, stranger, but take heed_

 _Of what awaits the sin of greed,_

 _For those who take, but do not earn,_

 _Must pay most dearly in their turn,_

 _So if you seek beneath our floors_

 _A treasure that was never yours,_

 _Thief, you have been warned, beware_

 _Of finding more that treasure there._

I read it one more time to make sure I understood its meaning. Then I looked up at dad who was staring at the writing with a frown. "Hm," he muttered, clearly nervous.

He pulled me against his side as we walked through the door. We found ourselves in a huge marble hall. There were many creatures like the one outside, all dressed in the same scarlet gold uniforms. A few of them bowed to us but most were sitting behind long counters, weighing something that looked like gold and precious stones and gems on brass scales, or writing something down with quills. On the other side of the hall there was another door and every now and then the creatures led people in and out through it.

I noticed that above a few counters there was a sign " _Exchange_ " and I pointed it to dad. He nodded mutely and we stepped to one of them. I looked at dad questioningly but he just shrugged. "I'm just accompanying you," he smirked.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat.

"Um," I started and the creature behind the counter looked up. "Can-can we exchange money here?" I said in higher voice that I'd intended.

"Certainly," the creature croaked. "How much?"

Dad pulled the wallet out of his pocket and finally took pity on me. Together with the exchanger they agreed on the amount of money in exchange for which the creature gave him a rather heavy looking pouch.

As soon as we exited the bank, I peeked into the pouch curiously. It was full of coins, some of them were golden but most were silver and bronze. I took one of every color to examine it closer. The golden one was called a Galleon, the silver one was a Sickle and the bronze one was a Knut.

"So, where do you want to go first?" dad asked excitedly, looking around.

"I thought you hated shopping," I teasingly reminded him of something we had in common.

"I do, but shopping for magical things can be a nice change," he said with a shrug.

And he was right. When we were passing all those shops, I didn't know where to look first. There were so many things I'd never seen before. At last I decided that the first thing I wanted to buy was a wand because, in my opinion, it was the most important thing on my list.

We found the little shop at the end of the street. It was narrow and shabby and the sign over the door read _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC._ In the window there was a single wand laying on a purple cushion.

I beamed at dad before reaching the door handle and he nodded, silently urging me to go in.

Inside it was small and filled with towers of narrow boxes. I looked around and behind one of the towers I could see an old man with white hair and the strangest eyes I'd ever seen. They were pale, almost silvery. He put down one of the boxes he had been holding and moved toward us.

"Hello," I squeaked in a high voice. For some reason he made me really nervous.

He didn't speak for a few moments, just looking at me with a curious expression. "Hello," he finally said in a quiet voice, still examining me with his strange eyes, like I was some kind of an exotic animal. Then he glanced at my dad and nodded thoughtfuly. "Muggle-born," he said and it wasn't a question.

"Is that a problem, sir?" asked dad and I could see that he was trying to maintain a stern expression but he too was nervous.

The man pointed at a single chair in the corner. "Please, sit down," he told dad, ignoring his question. Then he motioned for me to stand in the middle of the room. Dad glared at him but did as he was told. I went to stand where the man had pointed, waiting for more instructions.

"What's your name?" he asked, now holding a tape measure. I hadn't noticed where it come from.

"Um… Isabella Swan."

For the first time since we'd arrived here, the man smiled. "My name Garrick Ollivander. Don't be afraid, I'm sure there is a wand just for you." He stepped forward so now he was just about two feet from me. "What is your wand arm?" he asked but seeing my perplexed expression he quickly added, "Are you right of left-handed?"

"Oh. Right-handed."

He just nodded and started measuring my arm, telling me about wands. I found out that every wand is unique and what cores and wood he uses. I tried to take it all in but soon got lost in all the terms he used. At last he put the tape down, moved to the boxes and started taking some of them down.

"Now, Miss Swan, before we start, you should know that it's the wand that chooses the wizard, not the other way around."

"What if no wand chooses me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"Nonsense." Mr. Ollivander shook his head, handing me a wand he had taken out of one of the boxes. "Try this one." I stared at him blankly, not sure what he wanted me to do. "Give it a wave."

I did as he'd instructed but Mr. Ollivander shook his head and gave me another wand. I tried several more and still nothing happened, though I had no idea what was it that was supposed to happen. I glanced at dad who had been watching us from the corner. He was frowning slightly, his eyes fixed on Mr. Ollivander.

I lost count of the wands I'd tried, feeling the panic rising up my chest. What if I really didn't belong here? What if all this was a mistake and I wasn't supposed to be here at all? Mr. Ollivander didn't look concerned though and kept handing me wands like it was completely normal.

"Ash and unicorn hair, ten inches, pliant," he said, handing me what felt like a hundredth wand.

I took it, not expecting anything but as soon as the wand touched my fingers, I felt a strange warmth spreading through my arm. I gasped, looking at Mr. Ollivander whose pale eyes lit up excitedly. He gestured for me to give it a wave and as I did, red and gold sparks shot out of the end of the wand.

"Excellent!" Mr. Ollivander clapped his hands and took the wand from me to put it back in the box. He then wrapped it in brown paper and handed it to me, asking for seven Galleons.

"Treat it well, Miss Swan," he said with a smile and with a slight bow showed us out of the door.

"I'm not sure I liked that man," grumbled dad while we made our way down the street. I had to agree with him. I was glad that I didn't have to spend more time in Mr. Ollivander's company. "So, what now?"

I pulled out the list and quickly scanned through the items on it. "Um, I need a cauldron, scales, telescope and phials, then I'll need a robe and of course all the books."

"Alright, then, let's go."

We stopped at the shop that sold cauldrons and also all the other things I'd need, except for books and robes, so I was glad that I could get over it so quickly.

I spent quite a long time in the robes shop because of all the measuring that had to be done in order to make me a uniform. For a while I just stood on a stool, watching Madam Malkin, the shop owner, work and listening her chatting excitedly with her assistant. They talked about someone called Lockhart who would be signing his book next week here in Diagon Alley. The name sounded famliar and then I remembered that most of the books on my list were writen by a Gilderoy Lockhart. Could it be him?

After little over an hour they were done and I exited the shop, finding my dad sitting on a bench nearby, reading a newspaper. He had left the shop earlier, saying he would just wander around for a while.

"Look at that!" he said excitedly as I sat down next to him. "The pictures… they're moving! It's so fascinating."

There were a lot of interesting information in the papers, mostly about the Ministry of Magic, but there was also an article about the Hogwarts Headmaster, another one about a band called the Weird Sisters and their latest tour and there was also a whole sport section about something called Quidditch.

After a while we decided to stop for a quick lunch at the Leaky Cauldron before coming back for all the books. The barman indeed let us in after we'd knocked on the wall and he was more friendly this time, asking how we liked it here and if I had bought everything I needed. Dad ordered ham and cheese sandwiches for both of us, and I was surprised that there was actually normal food on the menu.

We returned to the Diagon Alley, finally getting to the point I'd been looking forward to the whole day. _Flourish and Blotts_ – the bookshop. We found it pretty quickly because we'd already passed it on our way to the Leaky Cauldron.

In one of the windows there was a large poster announcing Lockhart's signing of his autobiography _MAGICAL ME_ on August 17th, with a picture of a golden-haired man with blue eyes and a dazzling smile who was waving at his imaginary audience. He didn't really look like a writer, more like an actor or a singer.

I forgot about Lockhart as soon as I stepped inside. I stopped, staring in awe at the endless rows full of books. Some of them looked old, some new but all of them were bound in leather. Dad let me wander the aisles between the shelves for some time before reminding me that we should get on with the shoppings. With a sigh I cast a last, longing look at the books and headed for the school books section at the front of the shop.

After buying all the required books, dad decided to get me one of my own choice for my next month's birthday. I already had a present from my mom in my suitcase which I wasn't allowed to open before my birthday and I pledged not to read the book from my dad before then either. I chose a book called _Famous British Witches and Wizards_ and already couldn't wait to read it.

On our way back to the Leaky Cauldron I overheard someone to talk about buying some quills and parchment and although they weren't on my list, I felt like I'd need them too. When I thought I had everything I needed, dad bought us both an ice cream and then we headed back to the hotel through the pub.

It felt strange being back on Charing Cross Road and I already missed the magical atmosphere that had been present in the air in Diagon Alley.


	3. September 1st, 2005

**_September 1st, 2005_**

I rolled over in my bed for what seemed like a thousandth time. I'd woken up an hour ago and couldn't get back to sleep. I glanced at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. It read 5:30AM. I sighed. Dad wouldn't be very happy if I woke him now.

I turned again so now I was laying on my back, staring at the ceiling. There was a reason I couldn't wait for the morning. Today was September 1st, the day I'd been looking forward to for nearly a year. In five and a half hours I'd be leaving for Hogwarts.

I tried to imagine, again, what it would be like in there. I already knew from the brochure the lady from MACUSA had given me that I would live in a castle and that I'd be sorted into one of four houses. I still couldn't decide in which one I wanted to be. They all sounded quite cool – well maybe except for Slytherin, I really didn't think I had the qualities needed for this house.

Dad rolled over in his bed, letting out a loud snore. I chuckled and then sighed again. I would miss him and mom. I'd never been away from both of my parents. As much as I looked forward to Hogwarts, I was also feeling anxious. I would have to find friends and I wasn't really good at that. I'd never really had a best friend for example and there were only two girls in my class I'd considered friendly. But I'd always felt different somehow, even before I'd found out about magic. Like I didn't belong there. I hoped that now it would get a little better when I met people that were the same as me.

At half past six I couldn't take it anymore and got up. Dad was still snoring so I went to dress myself and pack the last things I'd still had lying around the hotel room. Then I sat in one of the armchairs by the window and waited for dad to wake up.

He finally woke up an hour later, looking quite surprised to see me already up and dressed.

"Couldn't wait, huh?" he said with a smile, then he yawned and scrambled out of bed.

After he got dressed we went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I realized that I wasn't really hungry, or rather I was so nervous that my stomach refused to accept anything except an orange juice.

"You have to eat, Bella," said dad with a frown. "You don't know when your next meal will be."

I sighed and bit into a piece of toast.

When we got back to the room, dad spent the next half hour packing his things. He had decided to leave London right after I got on the train. We'd been here for three weeks, mostly sightseeing or visiting dad's old friends, and he'd nearly run out of his vacation days.

At nine thirty we finally left the hotel. Dad knew the way to King's Cross station so we didn't have to worry about getting lost. It was getting to the platform the train would be leaving from that was the tricky part.

I was supposed to go through a solid barrier to get there.

I'd tried not to think about that during the three weeks but now I couldn't put it off any longer. I couldn't imagine how could I possibly be able to basically walk through a wall. And what about dad? I wanted him to be on the platform, too.

It took about forty minutes to get to the station. We got off the tube and walked toward the huge building. I bought a sandwich at a nearby stand so I had something to eat on the train and then we went to look for the mysterious platform 9 ¾.

Dad was slow, dragging not only my heavy trunk but also his duffel bag, but we finally made it to platforms nine and ten. Soon we were standing in front of the barrier that I was supposed to get through.

"I don't know, Bells," said dad, scratching his chin. "What if you get hurt? And I would really feel better if I could go with you to see you off."

I looked around. People were passing us but fortunatelly no one paid us any attention. I bit my lip, thinking. "Well, maybe…" I frowned. "Maybe if you held my hand, we could both get in there? Like when I saw the Leaky Cauldron and you couldn't see it until I touched the handle…"

"Right," he muttered, looking around too. He took my hand and for several moments we just stood in front of the wall, staring at it. We must have looked strange, I realized and threw a quick look around us. One woman was shaking her head, muttering something but other than that no one looked our way.

I took a deep breath and glanced at dad. "Ready?"

He nodded. "If it doesn't work and someone asks us what we were doing, we say I didn't feel well and my head spinned. Alright?"

"Okay."

I closed my eyes and made a step forward, clutching dad's hand with all my strength. I fully expected to crash into the wall but we kept walking. I heard dad gasp and I finally opened my eyes.

We were still standing on the platform full of people but it looked… different. Many of the people were dressed in robes, just like in Diagon Alley, some children and teenagers were already in school uniforms. Some of them had cages with owls and I noticed a few cats weaving around.

But the most surprising and also most amazing sight was the scarlet steam engine that was waiting there. I tried to count the carriages behind the engine but the smoke made it hard to see too far.

I looked at dad who was staring at the scene before him but then he blinked and turned back to the barrier. "How will I get back?"

Oh. It seemed that we hadn't really thought it through. Right then a male voice spoke behind us. "Don't worry, sir. I'll take you back."

I turned around quickly, finding myself in front of a man that looked like one of the guards we'd passed on our way to the platform. Dad looked surprised but relieved as well. "Well, that's good. I'll just… see my daughter off then."

The guard nodded, winking at me, and then walked back to the barrier where he must have been standing the whole time.

At last we started walking toward the train. We still had time, it was shortly before half past ten, so dad helped me heave the trunk onto one of the carriages and we found an empty compartment. Once the trunk was safely inside, I went with dad back outside.

We stood awkwardly in front of the train door. I knew dad couldn't really stay until the train left because he had a plane to catch so we had to say our goodbye now.

"So, Bells," dad started, rubbing the back of his neck. "Take care of yourself and please find a way to let me know you arrived safely. A letter or something." He frowned. We both had been wondering what way of communication was normal for wizards. The letter from Hogwarts I'd received earlier this year had been carried by an owl so apparently that was one way but I didn't know of any others. It seemed quite a long way for an owl to be flying from Britain to America, on the other hand the owl that had brought my letter seemed to manage it.

I nodded. "I'll try. Say hi to mom for me, will you?"

"I will, but you'll have to write to her too."

I sighed. Mom had freaked out when the Hogwarts owl arrived. I'd just have to send the letter for her to him and make him send it to her by normal mail. But I didn't want to argue with him right now – he would try to persuade me to write to mom directly – so I just nodded. We hugged tightly then and I breathed in the scent that was all dad.

"Love you, Bells," he said, sighing too.

"Love you too, dad."

Then I watched with anxiety as he weaved his way back to the barrier, disappearing in the crowd sooner than I'd like. I climbed back onto the train and made my way to my compartment. It was harder now, more people were looking for a compartment now that there was only about twenty minutes left to the departure.

When I finally got to my compartment I found a girl standing just outside of the door. She had long dirty blond hair and strange pale, almost silvery, eyes and was dressed in a bright orange long sleeved dress or maybe it was robes I wasn't sure. Around her neck was a necklace made of blue flowers I'd never seen before. I noticed a trunk behind her that looked maybe even heavier than mine but there wasn't anyone with her to help her with it.

"Is this your compartment?" she asked in a strangely dreamy voice.

"Um, yes?" I had no idea why my reply sounded like a question. "You can… have a seat, if you want?"

She nodded and gave me a slight smile. Then she grabbed her trunk, like it weighed nothing, and walked into the compartment. She put the trunk next to mine and sat by the window opposite to me. He big eyes then landed on me and for some reason stayed there. I squirmed uncomfortably and looked out the window but still I felt her gaze on me.

I watched the people outside on the platform. Parents were saying their goodbyes to their children and I marvelled at the wizarding fashion. I'd never given much thought to clothes but the robes most of them were wearing were really fascinating. Some people even had a pointy hat and I realized that I'd have to probably wear one too at school. I grimaced at the thought.

About two minutes before the departure a group of red-haired people rushed onto the platform. A short plump woman, propably the mother of the four kids – three boys and a girl - was giving them some hurried instructions but I didn't understand what she said since the window was closed. The father was talking to the eldest boy, who wore a badge on his chest and looked somewhat proud.

A girl with wild bushy hair ran toward the group then, hurriedly pointing to the train. I heard the shrill sound of a whistle and all the remaining kids jumped onto the train. A few seconds later the train started to move. I watched as all the parents waved after us, some women were even wiping away tears. I remembered my own mom who'd cried nearly hysterically when I announced that I'd chosen Hogwarts for my magical education.

I turned back to the strange girl opposite me and was surprised to see that she was still staring at me. Or rather… above my head. I frowned, quickly glancing behind me but there was nothing to see except for the wall of the compartment.

I wanted to ask the girl about it but right then I heard voices on the corridor. Then I saw the bushy-haired girl stop just outside our compartment, peering inside through the glass door. She waved at someone and slid open the door.

"Hello. Is anyone sitting here?" she asked, pointing at the remaining free seats.

I shook my head and she walked inside, dragging her trunk behind her. Right after her came the girl from the red-haired family. She looked young so she was probably starting Hogwarts too. The bushy-haired girl, who looked a little older, then pulled out her wand and waved with it toward her trunk, saying something in what sounded like Latin. It lifted itself off the floor and flew right into the luggage rack. She did the same with the younger girl's trunk.

They both sat down but kept looking out the door that had been left open.

"Where are they?" asked the bushy-haired girl impatiently.

"I don't know," said the other girl in a small voice. "I thought they were right behind us."

"Well, you were nearly late. They're propably in another carriage. I'm sure they'll find us eventually."

I looked away, afraid that they would catch me listening in their conversation. The strange blond girl opposite me didn't seem to have the same inhibition because she kept openly staring at the two girls.

"You are Luna Lovegood, aren't you?" said the red-haired girl suddenly. I turned my head back to them and she was looking at the blond girl with a small smile. "We played together once when we were little, remember? I'm Ginny Weasley."

"I know who you are," said the blond girl, Luna, in her dreamy voice. "Your brothers made fun of me," she stated matter-of-factly.

Ginny's cheeks went pink and she lowered her eyes. I frowned a little and Ginny must have felt my gaze because she looked up at me and smiled a little. "Well, the twins make fun of everyone," she explained and turned back to Luna. "They didn't really mean it, I'm sure. Once Fred hid my favourite teddy bear behind the chimney. I couldn't find it for a week and it would have still been there if I hadn't bugged mum to make him give it back."

"He went on a roof?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Yeah," she said with a shrug like it was an everyday occurrence that kids walked on the roofs. Then her eyes swept over me and she smiled. "Are you starting Hogwarts too?"

I nodded and then realized I still hadn't introduced myself. "I'm Isabella Swan. But everyone calls me Bella," I said.

Ginny grinned. "Ginevra Weasley. But everyone calls me Ginny." She held out her hand and I shook it and we both giggled at the same time. Then I glanced at the older girl that had been sitting by the door, looking out impatiently, bouncing a little in her seat. "This is Hermione," said Ginny, noticing when my gaze went.

Hermione turned around and gave us a small smile. "Sorry. Hermione Granger," she introduced herself and moved toward us to shake hands with me and Luna. "So, you're all starting your first year?" After we all nodded she went on. "You'll love it. Hogwarts is amazing, imagine all the new things you will learn! The lessons are so interesting! My personal favourite is Transfiguration but Charms is great too, and Defence against Dark Arts and Herbology and Astronomy. Well, Potions too but Snape can be a little… well nevermind. And then there is Flying if you're interested in that kind of thing," she wrinkled her nose a little, "but first you're going to be sorted into your house of course. Do you know in which house you want to be?"

I gaped at her with my mouth open and then glanced at Luna who was staring at Hermione with blank expression. Ginny giggled, apparently she knew Hermione and wasn't surprised.

"Daddy was in Ravenclaw and Mummy in Hufflepuff," said Luna suddenly. "I like Ravenclaw."

"Well, my whole family's in Gryffindor so…" Ginny said, shrugging.

Hermione then turned to me and I felt my cheeks going red. "Um… I… well… my family… they don't…" I stammered embarrassingly.

"Oh! You're a Muggle-born!" said Hermione excitedly. "Me too!"

"Really?" I blinked in surprise. She was already dressed in school uniform so the clothes hadn't given it away.

"Yes, both my parents are dentists so it was quite a shock were we found out I'm a witch…" She went on talking about her muggle family and how she had been sorted into Gryffindor last year and that she loved her house. She talked a lot and she talked really fast so sometimes I found it difficult to understand her, especially since I was still getting used to the British accent.

We spent the next few hours talking. Ginny told me about her wizarding family – she actually had six older brothers which I found incredible – and how she had grown up surrounded by magic but couldn't do any of it herself because children weren't allowed to use magic at all until they started school. That calmed me a little. One of my worries was that I would be behind others at school.

At half past twelve the compartment door opened and a smiling older woman asked if we wanted to buy something to eat. I had my sandwich and didn't want to spend all my money the very first day so I shook my head. Ginny and Hermione had their own sandwiches too but Luna bought something called Pumpkin Pasties. I eyed it curiously but didn't want to appear rude by watching someone eat so I quickly averted my gaze.

The conversation then turned to me. They were all surprised when I told them that I'd grown up in America and of course they asked how I ended up in the British school. Hermione was really thrilled about the idea of another school of magic and I told her the little I knew about Ilvermorny.

Hermione suddenly straightened up, looking out the window, frowning. She stood up quickly and moved toward the door. "I'm going to check the other carriages to see where Harry and Ron are. It's strange they haven't tried to find us." With that she was off.

I turned to Ginny, raising my eyebrows questioningly. She sighed. "Ron is one of my brothers and Harry is his and Hermione's best friend." Her cheeks turned pink and she lowered her eyes to her lap. "The three of them are inseparable, at least from what Ron told me. They had quite an interesting year at Hogwarts last year."

I was curious but before I could ask, Luna interupted us. "Harry, as in Harry Potter?"

"Yes." Ginny's face turned even more pink now.

"I wonder what he's like," Luna went on, but she didn't look at Ginny or me. "Daddy thinks Harry's scar has special powers…" she trailed off, staring out of the window.

I turned to Ginny. "What's so interesting about Harry?"

Ginny sighed and her eyes got a dreamy look. She quickly shook her head and then started telling me all she knew about Harry Potter, the boy who lived.

* * *

By the time Hermione got back, the sky outside the window had turned dark. She plopped down on her seat, sighing.

"They are not on the train," she said anxiously. "I looked everywhere."

"Do you think they missed the train?" I asked with a frown.

"I don't know," Hermione said with another sigh and looked at Ginny. "Do you think your parents can get them to Hogwarts if they really missed the train?"

"I think so," said Ginny. "They can always use the Floo."

I had no idea what "the Floo" was but I decided against asking. I would have enough time to do that later.

"You should probably change into the uniforms," said Hermione and stood up to take down Ginny's trunk, using her wand again.

After we all changed, we talked a little about the impending Sorting. Surprisingly, Ginny and Luna were as clueless about what it would be like as me. Apparently, it was a tradition that parents and older siblings kept the details of the ceremony from the newbies. Even Hermione refused to say anything, insisting that last year she hadn't known either. The only thing she revealed was that there would be no test of our magical skills or knowledge which was something I had been worried about.

Soon the train started slowing down and after a few more minutes it stopped. I glanced out the window and saw a small station which was lit by an old-fashioned streetlamp. We all stood up, making our way to the corridor, leaving our luggage behind like we'd been instructed.

Once we were outside I shivered. It was colder than I'd thought and I briefly wondered in what part of the country we were. Hermione separated from us then, saying the first years were to take different route than the rest of the school. Before I could ask, she was gone and I heard a booming voice calling over our heads.

"First years! Over here! First years!"

I turned toward the voice and my eyes nearly popped out. It belonged to a huge man whose face was covered in thick, bushy hair and beard. I froze on the spot, swallowing hard. Ginny tugged my sleeve. "Come on, it's just Hagrid. He's not as scary as he looks."

I let her drag me to the group of first years that had gathered around the giant. Some of the kids seemed to know Hagrid or at least had heard of him because they didn't look that scared or surprised. A few others though gaped at Hagrid with open mouths.

"Anyone else? No? So follow me!" Hagrid boomed and set off down a narrow path. It was completely dark around us, except for the light from the lamp Hagrid was holding above his head. I tripped several times and I was sure I would have fallen on my face if I hadn't held Ginny's arm. She didn't seemed to mind though.

Suddenly we stopped on the edge of a great dark lake and there was a collective gasp. On the other side of the lake was a mountain and on top of it was perched a huge castle with many towers and turrets. The moon on the sky above made it look even more like a fairy-tale.

Hagrid then instructed us to get into small boats that were sitting in the water. I followed Ginny into the nearest one and we were joined by Luna and a boy with mousy hair. He was very excited and nearly overturned our boat because he kept bouncing in his seat.

The boats then started to move silently across the lake. Nobody talked, everyone was looking around and even the boy in our boat stopped bouncing and stared in awe at the castle before us. Once we were nearly on the other side, Hagrid warned us to bend our heads. We all obeyed and the boats carried us through a curtain of ivy behind which was a wide opening in the face of the cliff the castle stood on. Then we continued through a dark tunnel into what seemed to be an underground harbour.

We carefully climbed out of the boats. I had to grab Ginny's arm again so I wouldn't fall but she just chuckled, rolling her eyes at me. Hagrid then led us up a flight of stone steps until we stood in front of a huge, wooden front door.

He knocked three times on the door and it opened at once. There stood a tall, dark-haired woman. She was dressed in emerald-green robes and looked to be very strict.

"First years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said, waving his huge arm over our group.

"Thank you, Hagrid," said Professor McGonagall. She motioned for us to follow her inside.

I felt my eyes widen and my mouth opened in awe. The hall was so big that I couldn't see the ceiling. There were flaming torches on the walls and in front of us was a marble staircase that led to the upper floors. There was another wooden door on the left and I could hear excited voices coming from behind it. It looked like the older students had arrived before us.

I thought we would join them but Professor McGonagall led us to a small, empty chamber on the other side of the hall. She waited until we were all inside and then started talking. She told us about the four houses we would be sorted in and about the system of house points that we would receive for every thriumph or lose for any rule-breaking. The house with the most points would win the House Cup at the end of the year. She then ordered us to wait in silence and left, saying she would come back when everything's ready for the Sorting.

After she closed the door behind her, I looked around. Everyone was quiet and most people looked as nervous as I felt. My stomach was in knots and my palms were sweaty. I looked at Ginny but she was staring at the floor, her hands clenched in fists.

Luckily, Professor McGonagall returned a few minutes later. "Now, form a line and follow me," she said and we all hurried after her. I walked behind Ginny, deciding I would do everything she did. I still didn't know how we would be sorted and I figured I'd better follow example of someone from a wizarding family.

We entered what Professor McGonagall had called the Great Hall. It was an amazing place and I didn't know where to look first. There were like a thousand of lit candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting. Another long table was at the top of the Hall and this one was for the teachers.

Once we reached the other end of the Hall, right in front of the teachers table, we turned around to face the other students. Professor McGonagall then placed a stool in front of us. On it was sitting what looked like a very old, pointy wizard's hat. I frowned, confused, and turned to Ginny who was standing next to me. She was just staring at the hat, her face pale, and looking like she was about to pass out.

Then something completely unexpected happened. The hat started _to sing_. I gaped at it, nearly missing the first few lines of its song. It sang about each of the school houses, and what traits each of them represented. At first I found it a bit hard to understand all the words, since we didn't use some of them in America, but I got the gist of it at least. After the last line it became clear what we would have to do to get sorted. And it was quite simple.

We had to put on the hat.

The Sorting started right away in alphabetical order. I relaxed a bit since S was near the end of the list. There weren't that many new students though, only about thirty or so, so sooner than I thought there were only a few people left.

Now I started to get really nervous. I'd tried not to think about any specific house, in fact, I didn't really care where I would end up. But it would be nice to end up in the same house as Ginny, I thought. I would have at least one friend there.

Then, finally, Professor McGonagall called, "Swan, Isabella!"

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, my legs shaking a little. I sat down on the stool and Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on my head. It fell over my eyes so I didn't see anything, I could only hear my heart beating loudly.

I nearly jumped when the hat started talking in my ears. "Interesting…," it said. "Smart, loyal, brave… a little hot headed sometimes… and so stubborn! So where to put you, where to put you? It's actually not that difficult, there's only one house that would be good for you…" Then the hat shouted aloud, as I'd heard many times before me. "GRYFFINDOR!"

I let out a long breath, which I didn't even now I'd been holding and jumped off the stool, taking off the hat. I walked to the Gryffindor table where students were cheering loudly and greeting me. I saw Hermione a few seats down from me. She gave me a bright smile and a thumb up. An older boy with glasses and familiar red hair stood up and shook my hand.

"I'm Percy Weasley and I'm the prefect. Welcome to Gryffindor," he said, sticking out his chest proudly. I stifled a giggle. "Now, if you excuse me, my sister is about to be sorted." He sat down, his eyes focusing on the front of the Hall.

I turned my head to the few students still waiting to be sorted and was surprised that there were only two left. Ginny was walking to the stool now, her face positively gray. She didn't have to wait long though because as soon as the hat touched her head, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ginny nearly ran to our table, now with a wide grin on her face. She sat down next to me and she too received loud cheers. Her brothers, beside Percy there were the twins as well, cheered louder than everyone else, leaning around the table and clapping Ginny on her back.

Suddenly, everyone fell silent and I looked around to see what happened. An old man at the teacher's table had stood up, clapping once. He had a long white hair and the longest beard I'd ever seen. He was apparently the Headmaster, since he had been sitting in a big golden chair in the center of the table. I remembered his name from the Hogwarts brochure – Albus Dumbledore.

"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he said, beaming at us. "I won't bother you with a long, boring speech right now, I can see you can't wait for the banquet to begin. Let's eat then!" He clapped twice and sat down.

My eyes nearly popped out as the table in front of me started to fill with the most amazing looking food I'd ever seen. I didn't even realize how hungry I was but at the sight of all those steaks, chicken legs or sausages my stomach started to grumble.

I dived right in, only half listening to the conversation around me. After a few minutes I noticed a movement at the teacher's table and lifted my head. A man with dark hair and a hooked nose walked up to Professor McGonagall and bent down, whispering something in her ear. She stood up, looking angry, and said something to the Headmaster. He nodded but continued eating. Professor McGonagall then followed the other man out of the room through another door that must have been hidden somewhere behind the table.

There was a commotion on the other side of our table and when I turned around, I nearly jumped out of my skin. A pearly white and slightly transparent figure was floating through the table. It was a man, wearing a ruff and tights and he was now greeting some of the students, who happily greeted him back.

I leaned to Ginny, whispering, "Is that…?"

"A ghost, yeah," she said, nodding happily. "It must be Nearly Headless Nick."

Before I could ask another question, the ghost had glided to us, now bowing slightly to the twins and turning to me and Ginny and the rest of new Gryffindors. "New faces!" He beamed. "Welcome to Gryffindor! My name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, the Gryffindor ghost." Then he turned so he faced the rest of the table. "I've just received the most interesting news," he announced with a somber face. "I heard it from the Fat Friar who heard it from one of the monks from the painting near the dungeons." He seemed to be enjoying to keep us in suspence but some people grew impatient.

"What happened, Nick?" said one of the twins.

"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley arrived in Hogwarts…" he paused dramaticaly, "… in _a flying car_!"

There was a collective gasp around me. Hermione groaned, burying her head in her hands. Percy, the Prefect looked angry and immediately started interrogate Nick, asking for details. On the other hand, the twins and some other boys looked excited.

"Mum is going to kill Ron," Ginny said with a sigh.

"What were they thinking?" said Hermione, now stabbing her chicken leg with a fork. "They will be expelled for sure. I just can't believe it!"

I glanced at the teacher's table absently, noticing that Dumbledore was now gone too. Even though I'd never met the two boys, I started to feel sorry for them.

* * *

After dinner and a speech from Dumbledore, who had returned a few minutes earlier, I and the rest of new Gryffindors gathered around Percy who was supposed to take us to the common room. He lead us out of the Great Hall and up the marble staircase. He pointed out some of the classroom and told us to watch out for something called Peeves.

We were climbing up the stairs for what seemed like hours and by the time we reached a long corridor with a huge portrait of a very fat woman dress in pink, I was exhausted.

We stopped in front of the portrait and Percy straightened up, sticking out his chest again. "Wattlebird!" he said loudly and to my surprise the portrait swung open, revealing a round hole in the wall.

We all climbed through and found ourselves in a round, cozy looking room with a big fireplace and comfortable looking armchairs scattered around. Some of the older students were already there, others were climbing through the hole behind us. Percy showed us where the dormitories were and was just about to say something else when he was interupted by a loud cheer.

I turned around and saw nearly everyone gathered around two boys. One was tall, with the same red hair as all the Weasleys, the other was shorter with black hair and round glasses. Everyone was shouting at them, clapping them on the back.

"Well, I guess they're not expelled after all," said Ginny next to me and I just shook my head, amused.

Then I saw the black-haired boy, who I assumed was the infamous Harry Potter, nudging the other one, Ron, to the ribs and nodding toward us. They both then said something to the others and walked quickly to the stairs leading to boys dormitories.

I heard Ginny giggle and looked at her. She pointed at Percy, who was scowling furiously, looking around the room. "He's not very happy with them, is he?" I said with a grin.

"Nope." She grabbed my arm, leading me to the other staircase. „Let's go upstairs, I'm tired."


	4. November 6th, 2005

**A/N: I know it's been ages since I updated this but my main focus is on BM. That doesn't mean I'll abandon this. I won't, only the updates won't be as frequent.**

 **Enjoy!**

 ** _November 6th, 2005_**

I slowly opened my eyes in the morning, noticing the rays of sun shining through the hangings around my bed. I stretched lazily, deciding to stay in bed for a little longer. It was Sunday after all. I closed my eyes again and smiled as I thought back to yesterday's events.

It had been the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. And it was also the first Quidditch match I'd ever seen. And it was amazing!

I'd never thought that I would enjoy watching a game so much. I always found sport somewhat boring, especially when I'd had to watch it on TV while visiting my dad. But this was something completely different. Maybe it was the overwhelming atmosphere of the Quidditch pitch full of excited people or the fact that we won the match, I wasn't sure. In any case I loved it. I couldn't wait to describe it all to dad in my next letter. Though I'd rather not mention how dangerous it could be. Knowing dad he wouldn't be pleased to hear that.

Because it really was dangerous. I remembered the mad Bludger that had been chasing Harry yesterday. According to Ginny it wasn't its normal behaviour. Bludgers were supposed to be unbiased. But this one had followed Harry everywhere and even broke his arm right before the end of the match. Harry had caught the Snitch then, even with his injured arm.

I sighed, turning on my side. I wished I could fly like that. No wonder Harry Potter had been on the team since his first year even though first years were not allowed to play Quidditch. Even all the Slytherins with their new broomsticks were no match for him.

I sighed again when my stomach grumbled. I glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table. It was nearly nine. I should hurry or I'd be late for breakfast. I opened the hangings and saw the empty room. That was weird. Ginny usually waited for me and we went to the Great Hall together. I shrugged, swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. Maybe she'd just been hungry and didn't want to wake me.

When I was about to leave the dormitory, the door opened and Ruth and Maggie, my other roommates, walked in. They were both nice girls and we got along pretty well but they both were much more interested in gossip or looks than me and Ginny. Naturally they had already become best friends.

"Have you seen Ginny?" I asked as I walked past them.

"No," said Maggie, frowning a little. "She was already gone when we woke up. I thought it was strange. You two always go together."

"She wasn't in the Great Hall though," said Ruth. "Or at least I didn't see her. Did you?" She turned to Maggie who shook her head.

"Oh. Well, thanks anyway. I'll go looking for her." I smiled at them and headed for the common room.

She wasn't there. Neither was she in the Great Hall, just like the girls had said, nor in the library where I looked next. At last I found her outside, sitting under the huge tree by the lake, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was staring at the calm water, not noticing my approach.

"Ginny?" I said hesitantly when I was several feet from her, trying not to startle her. "I've been looking for you. I was wondering…" I started but then stopped when I saw her rather pale face. She looked like she hadn't slept all night. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh… yeah, I'm fine," she said but she didn't sound convincing at all.

"Are you sure? You look like you didn't sleep at night."

She frowned, turning back to the lake. "I had a bad dream and then I couldn't sleep," she mumbled.

"What was it about?" I crouched next to her, not really wanting to sit on the cold grass.

"I don't remember," she whispered but it looked like she was talking more to herself than to me.

It was then when I noticed a book with black cover lying on the ground beside her. It was her diary. She took that thing everywhere with her, saying she just felt better with it close to her. I always shrugged it off. I'd never had a diary myself but I knew that some girls in my old school did.

I looked back at Ginny who continued staring at the water. She'd been a little distant lately, especially after Halloween. She'd even missed the Halloween feast, saying she wasn't feeling well but she'd refused to go to the hospital wing.

"So, why were you looking for me?" Ginny asked suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Oh. Well, I was wondering if you could help me with the Astronomy homework," I quickly made up an excuse. Well, it was true, I really needed her help and we'd even talked about it before, but it wasn't the reason why I went looking for her. I didn't want to admit that I just didn't like that she hadn't waited for me. I'd gotten so used to the two of us being almost always together or at least knowing where the other was but now I realized that she had the right to be alone sometimes. I felt a slight ping of guilt in my stomach.

"I said I'd help you, didn't I?" she said a little more sharply that usual.

"I know," I said quickly, surprised by her tone. "I just thought we could do it now, that's all."

She nodded slowly and stood up, putting her diary into her bag. We walked back to the castle in silence but once we were in the library, Ginny finally cheered up a little. We talked about the Quidditch match and she even laughed a few times. I decided to do not only Astronomy homework but Transfiguration as well, even though we didn't have this class until Wednesday.

We stayed in the library until the late afternoon, except for a break for lunch, and I felt really good about the work I'd done. I really liked Transfiguration, even though Professor McGonagall was quite strict and didn't tolerate childish behaviour. We all had to focus on the class and not interrupt her.

When we finally reached the entrance to our common room, I was out of breath as usual. Even after two months I still couldn't get used to the fact that our dormitories were at top of one of the towers, which meant climbing hundreds of stairs through the castle. I'd never been good at sports and always felt like I would die any minute after the climb. Not even all the shortcuts Fred and George had showed us in the first week were much help.

Ginny smirked at me as we climbed through the portrait hole into the common room but then we both stopped dead in our tracks. The room was unusually quiet, small groups of people were sitting or standing together, all looking somber and whispering something.

We looked at each other, completely puzzled and Ginny led us to the twins that were standing by the window with their friend Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson, an older girl from the Quidditch team.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, tugging Fred's sleeve.

He turned to us, a relief clear on his face. "Here you are," he said, uncharacteristically serious.

"We were in the library," I explained. "But really, what happened? Why is everyone so gloomy?"

It was George this time who spoke. "There was an attack. Much like the one on Halloween."

"But this time it attacked a student," said Fred.

"Who?" both me and Ginny said at the same time.

"Colin Creevey," said George and Angelina sniffed. "You know him, right?"

I gasped. Colin? But that couldn't be right. I'd seen him today, hadn't I? Then I realized I hadn't seen him since last night when we celebrated our victory…

Ginny went even paler. She stared at the twins with her mouth open. We both were friends with Colin and I felt sick in my stomach. I wanted to know more.

"Is he…?"

"He's alive," said Fred. "Petrified, just like Filch's cat. McGonagall said he'd be alright but it will take a while. Something about a mandrake potion."

"Thank God," I murmured, relieved.

I looked at Ginny, sure that she would be relieved as well, but her expression hadn't changed. She still stared at the twins, a look of horror on her face.

"Oh, come on, little sis," said George, putting and arm around Ginny's shoulders. "He'll be fine. Or," he grinned teasingly, „is he your boyfriend? I thought you were after Harry."

Ginny rolled her eyes, shaking off George's arm. "Just leave me alone," she muttered and walked away. We all stared after her, not knowing what to say.

"What's gotten into her?" asked Lee.

"She's been a little down the last week. Since the attack on Mrs. Norris," I said with a sigh.

"Well, she does like cats but this is a bit extreme," said Fred, shaking his head. "I mean, it's _Filch's_ cat! She'd love to scratch our eyes out if she could!"

"It can't go on like this. We have to cheer her up!" decided George and he and Fred immediately started to make plans how to do it.

I left them to it and headed for the dormitory where Ginny had disappeared. The hangings around her bed were closed though, a clear sign that she didn't want to be disturbed. I sighed. There was nothing I could do for her when she didn't want help. I went to dinner instead, hoping the twins would manage to cheer her up soon.


End file.
